Microlab Employees

Lab Printing

All students, faculty, and staff with a valid Shippensburg University ID card have the ability to print in any of the general purpose microcomputer labs. The University uses print release stations to assist in controlling print jobs that may be accidentally sent to the printer. This technology requires that students swipe their Ship ID card on a print release station before the job actually gets sent to the printer.

Print Quota Information

All Shippensburg University faculty, staff and students have a print quota on all lab and computer classroom printers attached to a print release station. For details on the print quota and how it works, please see our Print Quota information page.

Printing in a Microcomputer Lab

Log on to any lab workstation with your Ship e-mail address and password. You must be logged on with your own User ID in order for your print job to be released properly.

Open the item you wish to print. Go to File > Print. Change any print options if necessary and click OK for your job to be sent to the print release station.

Go to the print release station beside the printer and swipe your Ship ID card with the stripe facing down and toward you (as shown in the on-screen graphic). Please note that you can only use your own ID card to release print jobs. Other ID cards will not display your print jobs on the screen.

Click on the print job you wish to release, and then click on the Print button. Your job will be sent to the printer.

Printing Double-Sided (Duplex)

Choose the Print option from your application. In Internet Explorer, be sure to click on the drop-down arrow next to the printer icon and choose Print. [If you click on the Printer icon iteself, it will send your job to the queue without allowing you to select any printer preferences].

Select the double-sided printer from the list that appears. If this option is not available, duplex printing is not available at your location.

Adjust any additional print options, and then click OK.

Release your job from the print release station as detailed above.

Printing to Lab Printers from a Personal Laptop

Shippensburg University offers the ability to connect your personal laptop to any public lab printers so that you can utilize the same print services as lab workstations. Please see our instruction page on connecting your laptop to lab printers.

Environmental Impacts of Printing

Facts and Figures

Approximately 8333 sheets of paper (16.5 reams) = 1 tree

About 35% of municipal solid waste by weight is paper and paper products.

The average per capita paper use in the USA in 2001 was 700 pounds. The average per capita paper use worldwide was 110 pounds.

Shippensburg University prints over 11 million pages on network printers each school year.

Shippensburg University Microcomputer Labs print over 2.5 million pages per school year.

Shippensburg University spends approximately $12,500 on paper and $12,180 on toner for the 2.5 million pages that are printed annually. These dollar values represent costs for paper and toner only. There are also costs for the printers, printer maintenance and repair which includes labor costs, as well as power. The cost of printing on black and white laser printers is approximately 5 cents per page.

What You Can Do to Help

Change how you print. Don't just hit the print button. Look at what information needs to be printed and select your area to print. You can also cut and paste information into a word processing program.

Print using duplex (double-sided) as detailed above. Print PowerPoint presentations 4, 6, or 9 slides to a page. This can elminate waste by as much as 75%.

Look for web presence. Is the article you are looking for online?

Can you submit your paper electronically?

Pay attention to signs and instructions posted in the labs. These tell you how you can help save resources. Refer to your lab attendant if you need assistance.